Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.
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PaperclipPerfector
3d ago
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Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.
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Notes -
RIP Patrick Stewart
https://youtube.com/watch?v=X6oUz1v17Uo
N.B. Apologies in advance: this is not 100% "fun" and light culture war, but mostly a commemoration of the joy brought to us. I'm also quite loose with the distinction between the man and the character, but perhaps more than with any other actor of our time, this will be understandable: "It came to a point where I had no idea where Picard began and I ended. We completely overlapped."
The Measure of a Man
In memoriam: Sir Patrick Stewart (1940–2026).
The actor, one of the most impactful and beloved of his generation, has died at age 86. Most famous for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, he shaped a generation of sci-fi enthusiasts and the broader public. His work is still relevant to our collective conception of the possibilities and challenges that technological progress will bring, and its relationship to our own humanity.
The Inner Light: Family life
A native son of Mirfield, Yorkshire, he developed an early interest in drama. As has been discussed recently here, many of his generation experienced a truncated adolescence. Stewart was no exception, leaving school at 15.
Acting was tightly interwoven with his family life. His mother was involved with drama and encouraged his early interest. He appeared with his son Daniel, who played Picard's son in the alternate family life portrayed in TNG's "The Inner Light." He also had a number of significant romances with women involved in productions throughout his career, and later met his wife, Sunny Ozell. Skepticism has been expressed here with respect to large age-gap relationships. In this case, Stewart is reported to have died in the loving care of Sunny while suffering from Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. May we all find love that can survive such a journey, and let us hope that it's never called upon to be tested in such a way.
There are four lights: Conviction
Many of us here would not be able to enjoy any media if we only consumed things from artists whose culture war stances we agreed with. That being said, Stewart was also known as a principled and passionate supporter of many causes. Of particular personal interest was his willingness to speak about his own observations of domestic violence and its impact.
He was also a principled defender of civil liberties, including speech.
The Best of Both Worlds: From an "unknown British Shakespearean actor"
While we recognize those closest to him and the positions he advocated for, there is little doubt that the greatest impact Stewart will leave is through his acting legacy. Classically trained and involved with the Royal Shakespeare Company throughout his life, Stewart would reshape the sci-fi television and movie genre, bringing echoes of Henry IV to what had previously been a more swashbuckling role.
Yesterday’s Enterprise: A cultural icon
It is then, perhaps, no coincidence that any list of the most impactful Star Trek episodes contains a plurality of entries in which Jean-Luc Picard is a central figure. While TNG is often regarded as a reflection of the optimism of its era, in many ways this influence flowed both ways. Arguably, no other media did as much to shape an entire generation's view of what might come of rapid advances in technology. TNG may represent the zenith of optimistic depictions of the future in media. The more morally complicated universe of Deep Space Nine already suggested a turn away from that optimism, one that would feel even more pronounced after the dot-com collapse and 9/11. But of course, Stewart's distinctive portrayal as captain of the USS Enterprise was never really about techno-space-communism (he did seem to privately own Château Picard) but about what makes up our humanity.
Picard represented an unusual model of authority: intellectual, capable of violence but reluctant to employ it, and principled without being blind to the difficulties of applying those principles consistently. It was not his infallibility that made him admirable, but his conviction in the face of uncertainty and weakness.
For those of us who grew up with TNG, perhaps the more lasting influence was not what it taught us to expect of technology, but what it taught us to expect of the people entrusted with it. That distinction is as relevant as ever. His portrayal marked a radical change, making restraint, deliberation, and moral courage the defining virtues of a starship captain. We may question the optimism that surrounded it, but that ideal still echoes strongly in our hopes for the future.
Darmok: He taught us to speak in memes
Perhaps his greatest and most relevant legacy here is that he reminded us that even as media changes, we are still part of The Great Conversation: our shared stories and understandings are what make the culture, and the Culture War around which this site orbits.
Perhaps not, but you moved me and made my eyes water, and these are rich and proper emotions when a cultural titan like Stewart passes.
Amen.
I regret not being able to say more than essentially "This.", but the lack of responsibility our most powerful technologists have demonstrated through the past two-and-a-half decades is truly disappointing and appalling.
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